ItsieBitsE  © 2013

 Now the only challenge is finding time to make it all... 

​​I grew up drawing, painting, sewing, crafting and decorating anything whenever possible. ​ In college I focused on studio arts courses as well as a communication curriculum.  Photography and oil painting were my favorite classes, which reinforced my predisposition towards a creative arts future. 

After graduating from Fairfield University in 2003 I began working at the production studio for Elizabeth Eakins Inc. rugs and  fabrics, now part of Holland & Sherry Interiors.  I started as a dye technician, dyeing wool yarn to match custom colors for  handmade rugs.  A few years later, I taught myself how to weave on a table loom and transitioned into weaving rugs at work on a big countermarche Swedish floor loom. Eventually, I advanced into designing new woven patterns, developing samples for  the rug and fabric lines, and drafting out specialty patterned rug orders.

Once I saved up enough money, I bought a loom of my own and would weave with any fiber I could when there was time.  But  I wanted to further my skills beyond just weaving and woven design, so I ventured into New York to take classes at  The Fashion  Institute of Technology.  Initially, I went to learn programs that allowed for creating textile repeats for print design,  such as Adobe  Photoshop & Illustrator and some NedGraphics.  Screen printing courses came next, providing me with the ability  to apply the patterns I designed as engineered prints or for long repeats with multiple screen registrations.​  After the printing, I  sharpened my stitching skills with sewing classes so I could then turn my printed fabrics into functional items.   

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Since then, my ultimate goal has been to create various handmade goods, beginning with just yarn and ending with completely  hand woven, screen printed, sewn and embellished textiles.  I have been pursuing all the skills necessary to be a one person operation for the design and production of specialty fabrics and handmade goods.  Merging all my crafts into one of a kind hand made specialties items by designing a woven pattern and weaving a fabric, creating and applying an original printed pattern or image upon that cloth, sewing it into a garment or an accessory, and finishing it with hardware and/or surface decor.  

Here are just some examples of the woven patterns I developed and wove for

the Master Series rug line and for woven pillow fabric at Elizabeth Eakins, Inc.